The Cavs bought out Kevin Love because they had no use for him. Wednesday, they got eliminated – and he moved on to the second round.
In the Miami Heat’s series-clinching Game 5 win, Love made five three-pointers and grabbed 12 rebounds. Both are more than any single member of the Cavaliers in their series-losing Game 5 loss to the Knicks.
The Knicks outrebounded the Cavs 48-30, with Cleveland’s starting frontcourt of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen combining for 13 boards – just one more than Love.
And Love did it against Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez! Mobley and Allen struggled, even after Knicks forward Julius Randle missed the whole second half with an ankle injury.
It’s quite the revival for Love, who got a buyout from Cleveland after they informed him he was out of the rotation. Who replaced him? Dean Wade, who played just over ten minutes, total, in the Knicks series.
Love had two huge games for Miami as they knocked off the top-seeded Bucks. In Game 1, Love made four three-pointers and scored 18 points. On defense, he drew four charges in the 4th quarter alone.
Cleveland was outrebounded in all four of their losses, and got very little offensive production from their big men. Love scored the same number of points as Mobley for the series (49) and outscored Allen by two. Who did Cleveland add with Love’s empty roster spot? Sam Merrill, who didn’t play in the first round.
Now the Cavaliers are going home and Love has a chance to make his fifth conference finals appearance if the Heat can get past the Knicks. But we shouldn’t be surprised by his success. Since 2010, it’s been a tradition for a longtime Cavalier to take his talents to South Beach and thrive.
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